The blogosphere reacts. Actually, that's my girlfriend reacting, but she's smart. But she leaves an important question unanswered:
What circle of hell has Reagan been sent to?
This requires some thought. How much did he know. Was he smart enough and present enough to understand his evil actions? Was he lightly dozing or unable to recall? Or was he activelty participating? (The structure of Hell) What levels are good canidates? I'll create a handy guide, skipping levels which are totally unsuitable, such as "unbaptized infants"
Level | Sub level | sin | Pro | Con | eternal punishment |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Vestibule of Hell | The neutral; uncommitted | Reagan wasn't all that aware. perhaps he was a neutral non-participant | His talk wasn't at all neutral. Also, I think he merrits more than the vestibule | Stung by insects; running after banners | |
Circle 4 | avarice (extreme greed) | Chomsky described Reagan as "throwing a party for the rich." He defunded social services while cutting taxes. | Supporting reaigns of terror seem to be about more than just greed. And the punishment, while ironic is kind of light. | Condemned to useless labor | |
Circle 7 | Round 1 | Violent against neighbors and fellow men: murderers, war makers, homicides | Well, cutting social services to the point where mentally ill people are dying in the streets is really a form of structural violence. It's also directly violent to attack Nicaragua and support genocide in Guatemala. | He didn't recall anything about the Iran/Contra thing. Maybe nobody bothered to tell him about it. | Submerged in hot blood and Guarded by centaurs, who shoot any soul which attempts to rise |
Circle 9 - Cocytus - Realm of Compound Fraud | Round 2 Antenora | Traitors to country | Well, he was the worst president we ever had and he really screwed the majority of the people in the country. He appointed people to comissions who dismanteled those commissions, such as Clarence Thomas to the Equal Opportunity Commission which did not persue one claim under the Thomas tenure. | Was his intense patriotism real or a sign of his extrme deviousness? | Gripped by ice |
Circle 9 - Cocytus - Realm of Compound Fraud | Round 3 Judecca | The Ultimate Destroyer | Lots and lots of nukes. Was the world going to end? | Didn't actually bring about nuclear war. | Lucifer's three wings send forth freezing blasts of impotence, ignorance and hatred. Also, he chews three guys in his maw, including Judas. |
Conclusion
I think Reagan is probably in Circle 7, but might be in 9.
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